My computer is dead...

[Mtoto]

Hello to all

My Evesham computer, 3 years old, has died very suddenly and most unexpectedly. It was working fine until last week, never a problem. Then tried to turn it on one day and ... nothing. Completely lifeless, not even the hint of any power getting into it.

Have obviously tried several new fuses, and three different power leads, but no joy. The socket is fine, that much I know, because the monitor switches on quite happily.

Can anyone tell me if it's common for a PC to suddenly refuse to switch on like this? And is it likely to be a terminal problem? I was about to get a new one anyway, but this one had been promised to my son for his bedroom. If anyone can give me any tips on how to fix it, you could be making an eight-year-old boy very happy...

Thanks for reading this far

Mtoto

[123456]

Same thing happened to my mom's computer.
Open up the case and connect the power. There should me a small LED light somewhere on the motherboard...tell us...does that light glow when it's connected to power?

[saphalline]

Sounds like the PSU died. And yes, it's quite normal for 3-year-old computers to just suddenly die. 3 years is the common warranty period for hardware, and after that amount of time, something is likely to die. Usually a fan or a power supply or a hard drive - whatever.

[Mtoto]

Thanks for the honesty. It doesn't sound good, but I will remove the case and connect the power tomorrow, just to be sure.

Next question, of course, is: if the PSU has gone, is it worth replacing?

[beerbelly]

You can get a power supply for as little as $10. A lot depends on your system. Reply with all of the system info you have (ie. mobo, cpu, ram), and the hardware guru's will let you know.